Burgundy Grand Crus

In April 2013, Chi started her one-month journey to the grand cru vineyards, picking some 60 French estates known for their wines.

She has tasted nearly 500 bottles of wine, of which 460 are grand crus. Their total value is estimated to be 1 million yuan ($161,000).

She says that her visits to the vineyards moved her because the owners and winemakers were willing to share their wines, some of which are very precious, and their valuable time. The annual produce of most estates is limited, and some may only have one oak barrel because grand cru vineyards aren't spread over too vast an area.

"Chi is the most serious writer I've seen. When she's writing on a difficult point, she will send that part to her friends to see whether her words are easily understood," says Wang Yichao, an editor of the book.

Chi says that there are only a few wine books in the world that are focused on grand crus in Burgundy.

She found that some of the information she had gathered during her research was different from what was written in previous books, such as the color of soil at vineyards.

So she spent about six months sending e-mails to winemakers to get the right answers.